I've got that Alvin(RIP) song on single,never heard it on radio for some reason,,should have peaked higher than 29 IMO

Hour 2 - http://www.officialcharts.com/archiv.../1/1979-12-22/

TOTP -

20-12-79: Presenter: Jimmy Savile O.B.E.

(29) THE CLASH – London Calling (and charts)
(47) THE GREEDIES – A Merry Jingle
(9) THE THREE DEGREES – My Simple Heart ®
(24) THE SKIDS – Working For The Yankee Dollar
(43) BILLY PRESTON & SYREETA – With You I’m Born Again
(28) K.C. & THE SUNSHINE BAND – Please Don’t Go (video)
(72) THE REGENTS – 7 Teen
(13) DAVID BOWIE – John I’m Only Dancing (Again) (video)
(30) MIKE OLDFIELD – Blue Peter (danced to by Legs & Co)
(17) ROSE ROYCE – Is It Love You’re After (video)
(73) THE NOLANS – I’m In The Mood For Dancing
(1) PINK FLOYD – Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) (video)
(25) ELVIS PRESLEY – Merry Christmas Baby (and credits)

"Didn't we have an 'orrible time the day we went to Blackpool"...

Tony talking right up to the vocal on the Rose Royce hit Is It Love You're After. Tut tut! That was the best bit.

Why has this song title not got a question mark after it? It's a question. This happens on quite a few songs.

Is it love you're after, or just a good time? Tell me baby!

Neil Fox was featured.

Cheers!

I really like 'So Near to Christmas'. It certainly is disappointing it did so poorly, considering Alvin had 2 top 10 hits earlier in 1984.

It's strange that this song has been mentioned in this thread over the last day or two as I produce a weekly love songs show and we included it in this week's Christmas show.

Next week Tony should be playing the top 20 best sellers from 1965, 1976 and 1987. I heard Tony mention 1974 rather than 1976, so I wonder whether this was an error or a change of plan?

I think he may play charts of the year on January 3rd too. IIRC he did in these 2 weeks over Christmas/ New Year 2013-14 too.

Could have just been a slip of the tongue, he's had a few but the BBC listing states 1976.

On Saturday's POTP Tony began the show by saying we were going back 53 years to 1961 and 35 years to 1971, when it was infact 1979.

You're mental Rich

As Dick Emery used to say in character as Mandy "Ooh, you are awful......but I like you!" Smack of the handbag on you JBO.

Only You by The Flying Picketts is just superb though. There can be no argument on this.

I have to say I'm with Rich on this one. Can't stand The Flying Pickets version of 'Only You'. I might have been more favourable towards it if it hadn't left poor Slade's fantastic 'My Oh My' stuck at No.2 for 3 long weeks!

Sorry. I think it's terrible!

Oh dear JBO, it looks like there's a lot of mental illness going around regards aversion to the Flying Pickets. Two more mental posters join me in the white padded cell.

What made their Christmas '83 No1 worse is the fact that it kept not only a fabulous record from No1 by Slade but what would also have been a truly great story if they could have had festive chart toppers a whole decade apart in 1973 and 1983 with their 6th and what would have been their 7th and next No1 if they'd pulled it off.

In January 1984 the Flying Pickets had one of the biggest ever falls from No1 when they fell to No10, exactly the same week that Slade went from No2 to No11. Now there cannot be many charts where both the top two singles collectively plunged down like that, outside the top 9, even in recent years. Was that January 1984 chart unique to this day for that occurrence I wonder? Nothing similar springs to mind with both the No1 and No2 single. Plus the records that replaced them in those top two positions had done a similar change in the opposite direction, Pipes Of Peace by Paul McCartney going No9 to No1 and Howard Jones going No10 to No2, all in the same week.

I hated it at the time but over the last 31 years I must have mellowed.
However I did prefer the follow up, When You're Young & In Love.

Extraordinary indeed but back in those days although sales were still compiled a chart between Xmas and New Year was never broadcast so basically it was two weeks of sales which kind of explains the big drops and climbs.

Yes a good point, the chart was frozen for a week back then, can anyone remember when this changed? I guess it was late 80s.

Looking forward to the best sellers shows next week, although once again it would have been nice to feature a 90s year. Was listening to the Christmas chart for 1993 on Sunday morning with Bruno and it was so good bar Mr Blobby, would be ideal for Radio 2 now, lots of ballads in the Top 20. In-fact almost the whole Top 20 were quite slow tracks.

04 - 02 - 01 - Mr Blobby - MR BLOBBY
02 - 01 - 02 - Take That - BABE
02 - 04 - 03 - Chaka Demus And Pliers Featuring Jack Radics And Taxi Gang - TWIST AND SHOUT
05 - 05 - 04 - Bee Gees - FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS
04 - 07 - 05 - East 17 - IT'S ALRIGHT
12 - 03 - 06 - Meat Loaf - I'D DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE (BUT I WON'T DO THAT)
03 - 10 - 07 - Dina Carroll - THE PERFECT YEAR
02 - 11 - 08 - Meat Loaf - BAT OUT OF HELL
06 - 06 - 09 - Elton John And Kiki Dee - TRUE LOVE
02 - 15 - 10 - Frankie Goes To Hollywood - THE POWER OF LOVE
09 - 09 - 11 - Bryan Adams - PLEASE FORGIVE ME
03 - 26 - 12 - Peabo Bryson And Regina Belle - A WHOLE NEW WORLD (ALADDIN'S THEME)
03 - 37 - 13 - K7 - COME BABY COME
04 - 12 - 14 - M People - DON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER
06 - 16 - 15 - Janet Jackson - AGAIN
11 - 08 - 16 - Dina Carroll - DON'T BE A STRANGER
03 - 29 - 17 - Diana Ross - YOUR LOVE
08 - 18 - 18 - Mariah Carey - HERO
02 - 27 - 19 - Cliff Richard - HEALING LOVE
03 - 13 - 20 - Pet Shop Boys - I WOULDN'T NORMALLY DO THIS KIND OF THING

Let's hope Father Christmas brings a few of you lot some new ears tomorrow night

Another one I'd go for this week is Xmas 2003:

1 - NEW - 01 - Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules - MAD WORLD
1 - NEW - 02 - Darkness - CHRISTMAS TIME (DON'T LET THE BELLS END)
02 - 01 - 03 - Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne - CHANGES
1 - NEW - 04 - Bo Selecta - PROPER CRIMBO
1 - NEW - 05 - Idols - HAPPY XMAS (WAR IS OVER)
04 - 02 - 06 - Will Young - LEAVE RIGHT NOW
03 - 03 - 07 - Black Eyed Peas - SHUT UP
1 - NEW - 08 - Atomic Kitten - LADIES NIGHT
04 - 04 - 09 - Shane Richie - I'M YOUR MAN
1 - NEW - 10 - Sugababes - TOO LOST IN YOU
1 - NEW - 11 - Blue featuring Stevie Wonder and Angie Stone - SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED, I'M YOURS
1 - NEW - 12 - Ultrabeat - FEELIN' FINE
02 - 05 - 13 - Cliff Richard - SANTA'S LIST
06 - 06 - 14 - Westlife - MANDY
02 - 10 - 15 - Cheeky Girls - HAVE A CHEEKY CHRISTMAS
06 - 22 - 16 - Outkast - HEY YA!
03 - 14 - 17 - Katie Melua - THE CLOSEST THING TO CRAZY
02 - 07 - 18 - Evanescence - MY IMMORTAL
08 - 17 - 19 - UB40 / United Colours Of Sound - SWING LOW
05 - 12 - 20 - Girls Aloud - JUMP (FOR MY LOVE)

It will be interesting to see how they deal with 1965 considering there were no sales based charts until 1969. Prior to that each shop provided points based data. There isn't a person alive who knows what the real sales figures are. Last year POTPS did the same show with 1966 featured. Half the records in the top twenty were there simply because they spent ages at the bottom of the chart.

Shane Richie? Atomic Kitten? Cheeky Girls? Girls Aloud? Westlife?

You must be having a laugh. When Bo Selecta is the best song out of the top twenty, it says it all!

Except that isn't the case. Gary Jules, The Darkness and Outkast are all decent.